


Pride of the Actor

by SamanthaAuburn



Category: Game Grumps, Good Game (TV 2017)
Genre: M/M, Mild Egobang, rylex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 03:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12160587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamanthaAuburn/pseuds/SamanthaAuburn
Summary: Michele and Jesse ask Dan and Arin to come in and talk about Good Game, Season Two. The Grumps are super excited… until Michele suggests making the proposed romance between Ryland and Alex canon. Now Arin and Dan need to decide if they’re professional enough to make that happen.





	Pride of the Actor

“Thanks for coming in, guys,” Jesse said. “Michele and I appreciate it.” 

Two days ago Jesse called and asked Dan and Arin to come into his office. Arin had been hoping it was about Good Game. They had been pushing YouTube Red to let them try a second season, though it was hard to truly gauge the fan response. Game Grumps YouTube comments suggested a majority of their fans hate it, or at least the ones that hated it were loud and drowning out the actual fans. Facebook was a little more positive, Reddit was all over the place and Tumblr… well, Arin wasn’t on Tumblr, but from what he gathered, it was generally positive. And full of shippers. Which could be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. 

“No problem,” Arin said, taking a seat next to Dan. “What’s up?” 

“Well, to start, we have great news,” Michele said. “YouTube Red approved Season Two of Good Game.” 

“No fucking way!” Dan said with a grin. “That’s awesome!” 

Michele smiled. “We thought so. But it does mean we have some thinking to do regarding season two.”

“Whatever you need Dan and I to do, we’re up for it,” Arin said, grinning ear to ear. 

Michele and Jesse exchanged glances. 

Arin raised an eyebrow. Uh oh. Had he just promised something they couldn’t deliver? He tossed a quick glance at Dan, who shrugged. He turned back to Michele and Jesse. “I’m not sure I like that look.” 

“Well. . .” Michele continued. “We were talking about story related stuff for season two, and we thought we’d take a look at what the fans want for this next season.” 

Oh, crap. 

Arin ran a hand down his face. “I think I know what’s coming next.” Dan’s face grew red. 

“Well. . .” Jesse said. “You know that there’s a ton of people who. . . who, um. . .” 

“Who ship us,” Arin finished. “The Rylex shippers, or whatever.” 

“‘Rylex’?” Dan repeated with a little snicker. “Well, they’re clever with their ship names, if anything.” 

“Don’t google it,” Arin said. 

“Anyways,” Jesse continued. “We were. . . we were, um. . . considering making that. . . canon.” 

Even knowing it was coming, the news still sent a shock through Arin’s system. 

Dan frowned, his face even brighter red now. “Jesse--”

Jesse held up his hands. “I said considering it. Obviously there’s a lot to think about if we do that.” 

“Understatement of the century, Jesse,” Dan said. 

“This is why we wanted to bring it up with you guys first,” Michele said. “We won’t do it if you’re not comfortable with it. We know you’re not professional actors, and this isn’t what you signed up for.” 

Arin frowned. That stung. Yeah, he and Dan weren’t professionals. They constantly mentioned that in the episode watch parties and their normal Game Grumps episodes. But why should that be the issue? He may not be a professional, but that didn’t make him incapable.

Dan rubbed the back of his neck. “If we did do this, what would that entail for Arin and me?” 

“We don’t know for certain,” Michele admitted. “But we figure the first, oh, three or four episodes would have, you know, B-story romantic tension or whatever. The kind of stuff that fans are already picking up on, just slightly magnified since we’re trying to make it more obvious. Then we’d have an episode where it all comes out.” 

“This isn’t going to be one of those stupid soap opera style romances where the characters constantly break up and get back together again, is it?” Arin asked.

“Definitely not,” Jesse said. “We’d put Alex and Ryland together and then just. . . not make a huge deal out of it. We’re not writing a romance. This is B-story stuff.” 

“But. . .” Michele noted. “It would require you guys being. . . you know. . . lightly romantic around each other.” 

Arin exchanged a glance with Dan, heat building on his face. 

“I know you guys are okay with touching,” Jesse continued. “Hell, that’s. . . um. . .”

“That’s where the Egobang shippers come from,” Arin said, mildly smirking to hide the discomfort. 

“And there’d probably be a couple little instances of quick kisses,” Michele said. “Cheeks or on the top of the head or something. Another thing you guys have done.” 

“Not romantically though, and almost never in public,” Dan said. He glanced at Arin. “That’s where we’d have to really sell it.” 

The heat in Arin’s face expanded down his neck and back. 

“Well. . .” Jesse said. “Where you’d really have to sell it is. . . well, on the lips.” 

Arin crossed his arms, hoping his face didn’t look as red as it felt. “You’d want me to kiss Dan on the lips. My best friend. On the lips. Romantically.” 

Michele and Jesse glanced at each other. “If we did this storyline. . . yes,” Jesse said. “At least once for the show, probably twice max. Like. . . you know, one for the ‘confessions’ episode, and probably once more for whatever finale we end up with.” 

Dan buried his face in his hand. 

“If you can’t do it, that’s fine,” Michele said. “No pressure. Like I said, we don’t really expect it of you guys. It’s not what you signed up for, and you aren’t professionals. This isn’t something you’re trained to do.” 

There was that excuse again. They weren’t professionals. Arin pressed his lips into a thin line. 

“Can we think about it and get back to you?” Dan asked.

Arin glanced up at him, raising one eyebrow. 

“Sure,” Jesse said. “Though you only have a week. We need to get started writing fast, and even if this is B-story, it’s pretty dang big B-story and we should be incorporating it from the start of writing.” 

“Great,” Dan said. He patted Arin’s shoulder and jerked a thumb behind him. “Let’s get going, Arin. We’ve got recording and stuff to do if we’re going to dive into another YouTube Red commitment.” 

Arin blinked at him, then nodded. He waved goodbye to Jesse and Michele and let Dan lead him out of the office. 

Dan’s car waited in the car park. Damn, he was grateful they had decided to actually drive out rather than Uber. They had way too much to talk about, and the last thing they needed was prying eyes from a stranger.

Dan took his place on the driver’s seat and started up the AC. “So.” 

“You know the Egobang shippers will go nuts with this,” Arin said. “Like, once that episode comes out, every Game Grumps Live Q&A and every convention panel will start by asking me if you’re a good kisser.” 

“Then you better tell them I am, if we choose to go through this,” Dan said, grinning. The grin faded as he ran a hand across the wheel. “Assuming we do this. That’s. . . I mean, that’s a huge deal. And they’re right. We aren’t professionals.” 

“So what?” Arin said, the anger accompanying their excuse finally bubbling to the surface. “It doesn’t excuse it. Lots of actors, professional or amateur, kiss on stage or on camera. And they do it outside of their own comfort zone. That’s a poor excuse. We could do it.” 

“Arin,” Dan said. “This is way out of our comfort zones. On top of the fact that we’re both straight, and you’re fucking married. . . I mean, how many actors kissing outside of their comfort zone are romantically kissing their very platonic best friend and lifetime coworker? Hell, if you really want to get into terms, you’re also my boss.” 

Arin laughed. “Only on Game Grumps. You’re technically my boss on Starbomb.” 

“Okay, so you’re married, we’re both straight, we’re platonic best friends, lifetime coworkers, and each other’s bosses, and we’d have a multitude of shipping fans bringing this up probably for the rest of our careers,” Dan said. “That’s a lot to overcome. It doesn’t matter if we’re only doing romantic kissing for the camera, it’d be idiotic to think that it couldn’t affect us outside of the show.” 

Arin glanced at Dan. “Does it have to affect us outside of the show?” 

Dan frowned. “Well. . . no, of course not. But it could. We can’t predict that.” 

“If you’re worried about all that, why didn’t you just immediately turn them down?” 

“I. . .” Dan glanced out the window. “Okay, maybe I was a little peeved at their comment about ‘professionals’ too, but god, if I really think about it. . .” 

“To be honest, Dan,” Arin said. “I don’t even know if I could convince myself to do it.” 

Dan glanced back at him. 

“Seriously,” Arin said. “Even knowing I had to do it for the show, even if we said yes right now, even if you flat-out asked me to kiss you on the lips, in private or on camera, I’m not sure my brain would let me.” 

Dan smirked. “Despite all the constant gay jokes with me? Hell, someone made an animated about you talking about ‘sculpting a masterpiece’ while naked on top of me at the beach. And you regularly talk about wanting to get in my ass.” 

Arin snickered. “Okay, funny guy. But you know those are jokes. We do that on and off camera, but we never actually act on it, you know? I love you to death, and you know that, and I don’t have a problem saying it to you. . .” 

Dan smiled lightly. “I love you too, Arin.” 

“But that’s still not the same thing as a romantic kiss on the lips,” Arin continued. “Like, what we have is probably more than just friends, you know? We’re so much closer than that. But it’s not romantic. That’s what I have with Suzy.” He suddenly groaned and slicked his hair back. “God, if we even consider this, I’m gonna have to talk with Suzy.” 

Dan put his car into gear. “Think we can cancel an afternoon of recording?”

Arin glanced at him. “Why?” 

“Come back to my place with me and we’ll see if we can even physically convince ourselves to kiss each other,” Dan said. “Because I’m with you on that. I’m not sure I could even do it. And heaven knows we’ll never even attempt it at the Space. We need the privacy.” 

Arin narrowed his eyes. “Are you seriously angling for a booty call?” 

Dan laughed as he pulled on the freeway. “No, no, not like that. You’ll see. Why don’t you call Susy on the way over and explain the situation?” 

Arin rolled his eyes. “Fine.” 

\-----

“So do you think Ryland is actually in love with Alex?” Dan asked.

They were still driving down the freeway, after hitting a pocket of traffic. Arin had already called Suzy and explained the situation. She seemed more amused than anything, and happily gave her blessing for them to do whatever the show called for, short of downright porn. Arin wasn’t sure whether he should be grateful or if he wished she had said no so he didn’t have to worry about whether or not he could kiss his best friend. 

Arin pressed his lips together, considering the question. Dan had a good point. Five weeks of filming with a single character really got you into their mindset, and Arin was fairly convinced he could predict a lot about Ryland by this point. 

“I think. . . it’s possible,” he said. “But Ryland fucking hates himself and considers himself totally unloveable. He’d never let himself think that he could love someone, let alone that someone could love him.” 

Dan frowned as he pulled off at their exit. “I’ve been there.” 

“I know the feeling, man,” Arin said. “Ryland is nothing like I am now, but god knows I used to be there. It hits pretty hard sometimes.” He pulled his hair free of the ponytail and put it back up, grabbing at loose strands. “What about Alex? Does he love Ryland?” 

Dan smiled. “I think that almost goes without saying. I mean, look at how he acts around him. He’s so desperate to make sure Ryland is happy. But he has no idea how to express it. Hell, if one of the team members pointed out that he loved Ryland, he’d just grin, say of course he did because he loved them all, then move on, totally ignorant of what they really meant.” 

Arin laughed. “Yeah, he’s not very self-aware.” 

Dan pulled down his street. “So what would it take to get them to open up to each other?” 

Arin frowned, concentrating. “Normally I’d say something like, ‘being drunk’ or something, but Alex is drunk and high on a regular basis and he’s never come clean.” 

Dan chewed his lip. “Been there, too. It’s. . . not really a fun place to be.” 

Arin squeezed Dan’s shoulder. 

“What about Ryland?” Dan asked, patting Arin’s hand in thanks. “They’ve mentioned drinking, but I don’t think there was a single episode where Ryland had a beer or was drunk. Hell, I don’t even remember him taking shots during the streaming episode.” 

Arin glanced at the ceiling. “I have a feeling Ryland doesn’t get drunk too often. Makes him too introspective, which only encourages him to hate himself.” 

Dan pulled into his driveway. “Would that do it then?” 

Arin stretched. “It’s possible. If he had some angsty thing to be introspective about, it would lower his inhibitions.” 

Dan got out of the car. “Okay, so Ryland thinks he’s unloveable. What if the rest of the team does something to ‘prove’ that to him?” 

Arin followed. “What do you mean?” 

“Say that they just finished a tournament or something,” Dan said. “And the whole team wants to go out to celebrate, but Ryland is feeling tired. Maybe he already had a beer or two at Alex’s insistence and it’s making him sluggish. He tells the others to go on without him and he’s heading home. Alex promises to be home by 11, but 11 comes and goes and Ryland starts to get worried. Maybe he tries texting and calling and Alex doesn’t respond.” 

Arin nodded. “And he starts drinking more since he’s worried, which gets him really introspective.” 

“And by the time Alex comes home, Ryland has convinced himself that the whole team hates him and they’re only interested in Boogerboss’s skills,” Dan continued.

Arin frowned. “And somehow that’s going to open up the door for a confession and kiss?” 

Dan shrugged, opening the door to his house. “Alex hates the fact that Ryland hates himself. He’d be pretty desperate to prove Ryland wrong. Maybe even up to the point where he’d kiss him.” 

Arin followed Dan into the living room. “Okay, so we have the scenario, but what good does that do us?” 

“Have a seat,” Dan said. Arin plopped in one of the couches, noting a pile of empty La Croix cans on the coffee table. Dan picked one up and dropped it in Arin’s hand. “This is what you’re drinking.” He pointed to the empty cans. “This is what you drank. Act appropriately drunk.” He turned toward the front door. 

Arin blinked. “Wait, what? Are we just gonna improv this thing?” 

“You’re drunk and alone and introspective and Alex isn’t home right now,” Dan called. “Act like it.” Then the front door closed. 

Arin rolled his eyes. Like this was going to work. He cautiously sniffed the contents of the can in his hand, reeled back, then raided Dan’s fridge for a fresh La Croix. If he was gonna do this, he’d better at least get a fresh one out of it. 

He plopped back on the couch and let himself wander. He held beer in his hand. This was an apartment he shared with his best friend. He’s been gone for fuck knows how long and he wasn’t answering texts or calls. He should be worried, but really, he knew the reason. The team hated him. They didn’t like boring, angry, unloveable Ryland. They only wanted ass-kicker Boogerboss. Ryland meant nothing to them. 

He took a sip of the drink in his hand. God, beer sure was bitter. 

\-----  
Dan stood outside his own home and took a deep breath, shaking out his hands. He could do this. It was just improv. No cameras, no crew, no director, no pressure, no commitment. This was just normal crazy improv with his best friend, like he often did. 

It’s not like they were gonna kiss or something.

He pressed his eyes shut tight. God, could he even do that? He’d have to be really into the scene to even consider it. And even if they managed to do it here, in character, without cameras or scripts, it didn’t guarantee that they could do it later. This was no pressure and he was terrified. What would he do if they decided to attempt it in front of a camera? 

Why the hell were they doing this? 

Because I really like Ryland. . . Alex whispered somewhere in the back of his mind. Dan had heard of actors getting so into their characters that they felt them almost as a completely different person sharing their minds. Sometimes even threatening to take over. 

Dan had always shrugged that off. After all, he had no trouble separating Leigh Daniel Avidan from Danny from Game Grumps and Danny Sexbang. Three separate personas, the first being his private self, the second being his public self, and the final being something completely separate from himself. 

He loved all three lives he created, but he never mixed them up. Dan Avidan might make dead baby jokes with Arin through text, but Danny from Game Grumps would never attempt it while recording. Danny Sexbang might be happy to sleep with any available lady, even multiples at once, regardless of whether he knew they names or not, but Dan Avidan considered sex more sacred than that, only experienced with the right people at the right time. Dan Avidan might be totally cool with Arin’s constant gay jokes, but Danny from Game Grumps was always mildly annoyed, even if he was laughing. 

All of them shared traits, of course, but they were three separate people. They didn’t mix. 

But Alex changed that opinion. 

Alex talked to Dan while he learned lines or did ADR recording. He encouraged improv lines and had his own private opinions about every other character even if it never came up on screen. And he had mixed himself with Dan. Parts of Dan came out in Alex, but parts of Alex came out in Dan. He never thought Alex was trying to take over, but he did feel. . . real. And some weird part of him wanted Alex to have a happy ending with Ryland. 

But was that enough motivation to actually attempt this? 

“Okay, Alex,” Dan whispered to himself. “Prove to me why this is worth it.” He shut his eyes. They had just won a big tournament. His best friend and top player had felt tired and went home. He promised he’d be back to their place by 11, but oops, it was far later than that. But his roommate would understand. Hell, he was probably already in bed. No worries. It’d be fine. And Alex needed sleep anyway. He’d had way too much to drink, like normal. Time to go home. 

He opened the door. 

“You’re late.” 

Alex stood in the doorway, frowning. His drunk, fuzzy mind immediately recalculated to full alertness as he realized whose voice that was. He shut the door quickly and turned into the living room. 

“Ryland? What the hell are you still doing awake? I thought you came home to sleep.” His gaze fell on the pile of beer cans on the coffee table – far too many to be drinking alone. His frown deepened. “How many of these did you have? You know you’re not--”

“Why the hell do you put up with me?” Ryland asked, his eyes red and his speech mildly slurred. The smell of alcohol permeated the air as he spoke. 

Alex lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” 

“You goddamn know what I mean,” Ryland said, his drunk words hitting Alex right in the chest. “Why do you still live here? We. . . we won that stupid Blood Match thing. You’ve got money. Why aren’t you like. . . finding a proper house, catching a girlfriend, or fucking throwing name brand peanut butter off bridges or something? You don’t need me. Plain, angry, bitter old Ryland. You just need Boogerboss when tournaments come around.” 

Alex held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, where’s that coming from? I never said anything like that!” 

“But it’s true, isn’t it?” Ryland said, the drunk anger getting worse. “You guys don’t care about Ryland. You just--”

“That’s enough of this.” Alex reached out and tried to pluck the beer out of Ryland’s hand. Ryland snatched it back, spilling it on himself and the couch. Alex narrowed his eyes. “Ryland, we’ve talked about this. You’re not supposed to get drunk, especially alone. That’s when the gremlins start talking to you, and you start listening to them.” 

“Well, maybe the gremlins are right this time,” Ryland snapped. “Maybe they’re finally making sense!” 

“Ry, you know better than that--”

“Do I?” Ryland shouted, standing up and throwing the half-filled beer can on the floor. Alex held up his hands. Ryland rarely got drunk. But when he did, and the gremlins started taking over, he wasn’t himself. Ryland wiped his mouth. “Or have you just been telling me that all this time so I can win you guys tournaments? You’re all just using me!” 

Alex stepped back, escaping the flying beer. He stared at Ryland. “Ryland, we would never do that. You’re our friend. You aren’t just a tool.” 

“Tell that to the rest of the team.”

“The team loves you!” 

“Are you fucking kidding?” Ryland spat, tears forming in the corners of his eyes now. “They don’t love me. No one loves me. No one could love me.”

That was a confession Alex never thought he’d hear. No one could love him? No one? Did he really think like that? After everything they’d been through?

“I love you.” Alex said it so quietly, he wasn’t even sure if Ryland heard him.

Ryland stopped his ranting and blinked at Alex. “What?” 

“I said I love you, Ryland,” Alex said, the beer in his gut sloshing precariously. His face flushed and his vision blurred from tears building in them. How could Ryland think no one loved him? That he was unloveable? When it was so far from the truth? “I’m in love with you.” 

Ryland’s breathing slowed as he stared wide-eyed at Alex. 

Alex lowered his head, the shock of his confession reeling through his body, threatening to expel the contents of his stomach. “I. . . I’m sorry I didn’t mention it sooner. I just. . . I guess I never. . . and I didn’t think you’d--”

“You’re lying.” 

The words stabbed Alex in the heart and he froze. He met Ryland’s eyes. True tears had escaped the other man’s eyes now, running angry streaks down his cheeks and catching in his beard. 

Alex frowned. “Ryland--”

“Don’t fucking lie to me,” Ryland said. “Now of all times.” 

“Why the fuck would I lie to you?” Alex said, his own tears overflowing now. How could Ryland say that? “I’m serious! I--”

“Just stop!” Ryland shouted. “No one loves me. I’m not loveable.” 

“Ryland.” Ryland turned and Alex caught the younger man’s jaw in his hands. Ryland stared at him, tears continuing down his face. Alex fought his own tears back while wiping Ryland’s face clean with his thumbs. “The gremlins are wrong. You are loveable. Your team loves you. I love you. Stop listening to the voices in your head and pay attention to the reality in front of you. Please. . .”

Ryland took a deep, shaky breath. “Prove it.” 

So Alex reached down and pressed his lips to Ryland’s. He caressed them softly, tasting the salty tears, trying to push every ounce of love he felt for him into the motions. He quietly ignored his own flushed face and quickened heartbeat, willing Ryland to understand, willing him to see that he was loveable, and that Alex truly loved him. 

It took a moment, but, slowly, shakily, Ryland returned the kiss, leaning into Alex. He rested one hand on Alex’s back and the other in his hair. The tears didn’t stop, but only increased, though Alex knew it was something other than sadness that drew them to the surface. Ryland gripped him with such a terrible desperation. . . It just broke Alex. 

He didn’t want this to end. The moment it did, the magic would be gone. Ryland would go back to the way he was, or something equally horrible. Or maybe. . . maybe he’d realize. . . 

Dan released the kiss and pulled back, Alex’s presence now gone and the realization that he was kissing his best friend drawing incredible amounts of heat to his face. 

Ryland was gone too, Dan saw, as Arin pulled back, his face bright red. Arin touched his hand to his lips and coughed, glancing around him. “Ah. . . sorry about the La Croix on your couch and floor.” 

“I did suggest an empty can prop,” Dan said absently. “But don’t worry about it.” He shook himself and wiped his eyes free of Alex’s tears. “God, that was intense. I’ve never gotten so deep into a scene that everything just flowed that naturally before. It felt so fucking real.” 

“Like. . . like we were real professionals,” Arin said.

Or that Alex and Ryland were real people. Dan didn’t know what to think.

“Dan.” 

Dan turned to Arin. 

Arin took a deep breath and leaned toward Dan, cupping his hand over Dan’s chin and pressing their lips together. 

Dan should have wanted to pull away. They weren’t doing improv anymore. This wasn’t a scene. This wasn’t an experiment for YouTube Red. This was normal, everyday Arin Hanson, kissing normal everyday Dan Avidan. 

But he leaned into it instead.

Arin’s kiss was decidedly different than Ryland’s. Ryland was so desperate to be loved. Arin already understood that he was. And while Alex and Ryland’s moment had been full of concentrated, previously suppressed romantic feelings, this moment with Arin was full of that more-than-friends-side-step-from-lovers love that Dan so often felt when he cuddled with Arin on the Grump couch, or hugged him on stage, or kissed the top of his head while writing Starbomb lyrics or whatever. 

In a way, it was just as intense, but it was also. . . comfortable. Familiar. Warm. Right. 

It was also significantly shorter. 

Arin pulled away after a moment, still staring at Dan. He scrunched up his face and licked his lips. “I feel like we might need to practice that.” 

Dan rolled his eyes. “Seriously, Arin?” 

“At least we know we can do it,” Arin said, grinning. He wiped his face free of the tears that still lingered. “Though I think our friendship kissing is a little less intense than what Alex and Ryland did just now.” 

Dan raised an eyebrow. “‘Friendship kissing’?”

“You have a better term for it?” 

“Guess not,” Dan said. He took a deep breath, still stewing in the heat in his face and neck. “So. . . am I a good kisser, Arin?” 

Arin ruffled Dan’s hair, his face still pink. “Shut the fuck up.” Dan laughed. Arin wiped the corners of his eyes. “Damn, crying takes so much out of you. Got any juice? I’m fucking dehydrated.” 

Dan shook his head, then slipped his arms around Arin in a tight hug. “I love you, Arin.” 

Arin didn’t hesitate before hugging Dan back, burying his face in his friend’s shoulder. Dan felt Arin’s smile against him. “I love you too, bro.” He broke the hug. “But can I please have that juice now?” 

Dan laughed again, nodded, and headed for the kitchen. He poured a glass for Arin. He noticed his hand shook. Damn. He had actually kissed Arin. More than that, he had kissed Ryland and Arin. He licked his lips, the feeling of Arin’s pressed to them still lingering. 

God. 

“So. . . do you think that things’ll be different now that we’ve kissed each other?” he asked Arin as he passed him the juice. 

Arin sat on Dan’s couch and gently tugged Dan’s sleeve, encouraging the older man to sit next to him. “I don’t know,” he said, sipping on the juice. “Do you think things are different?” 

Dan met Arin’s eyes. He expected some random romantic feelings, or some conflicting emotion, or even some urge to kiss him again to pop up as he stared. But none of that happened. Arin was still just Arin. His best friend, his closest pal. A man he could turn to for anything. If anything, he felt closer to him, but in a more. . . familiar sense. Like, if they could get through a kiss together, when so much was stacked against it, they could get through anything. 

He leaned his head on Arin’s shoulder. “No. I think it’s just the same amazing thing it always was.”

Arin ruffled Dan’s hair again with a smile. “I agree.” 

“The Egobang fans will go nuts.” 

Arin laughed. “Let them.” 

“So what do we tell Michele and Jesse?” 

“Don’t worry,” Arin said. He sat the juice down and pulled up Dan’s laptop. “I got it.” 

Dan smiled. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Alex whispered a quiet Thanks. 

Maybe that was right to do after all. 

\-----

“Hey, I’ve got an email here from Arin,” Michele said. 

Jesse slid his chair over to her computer as she opened it. A grin spread across his face. “So they’ll actually do it?” 

“Yeah,” Michele grinned. “I can’t believe we convinced them.” She glanced over the email. “Hold on, there’s an attachment here.” She opened it and read through it, blushing. “Oh. . . oh god.” 

“Is. . . is that a fan fiction? Of Alex and Ryland?” 

“I think it’s. . . a proposed scene for the show,” Michele said. 

Jesse looked it over. “Send it to Sarah and Erica.” 

Michele glanced at him. “Seriously?” 

“You never know.” 

Michele raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “You got it, boss.”


End file.
